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Religion
The concept of religion is present on the world of Remnant and has existed for hundreds of years. There is more than one religion known to exist, with evidence of both monotheistic and polytheistic faiths. Deity Brothers According to Qrow Branwen, Ozpin claims this religion to be factual and is later revealed to be true. Legend Two brothers, one older and one younger, existed on Remnant, filling it with both life and destruction. The older brother created water, plants and wildlife during the day, while at night, the younger brother would discover his sibling's creations and become disgusted. He created drought, fire and famine. Yet life had a strong ability to endure, so the younger God of Darkness decided to create the Creatures of Grimm. He designed them so that they would have an innate desire to destroy everything and anything. Weary of feuding, the older God of Light proposed that the two of them create one last thing together, a masterpiece they could both be proud of. The younger brother agreed and together they created a creature that was gifted with knowledge, creation, destruction and choice. Most important was the capability of choosing whether to use these gifts for light or dark. These creatures became known to be Humanity. The gifts of the two brothers were also given a physical manifestation, so that four Relics now exist on Remnant, representing each of the four gifts bestowed on humanity. These Relics each contain immense power, and it is said that, if someone were to wield all four, they could change the world. Sometime after, the Gods abandoned Remnant. Each of Remnant's primary Huntsman Academies houses one of the Relics, with Haven housing the Relic of Knowledge, Beacon housing the Relic of Choice, Atlas housing the Relic of Creation, and Shade housing the Relic of Destruction. True History After much time has passed and Humanity grew to populate the world, the Gods themselves lived among them in their respective domains. The humans of the worlds would often pay homage and prayers to the Gods. Most went before the older god to give their pleas as none dare pay respects to his younger sibling for the dangerous creatures that dwelled in his land. During the era when Salem and Ozma lived, the Gods were visited by a young Salem and came to ask for the legendary warrior, Ozma to return from death after he had passed. At first, she beseeched the elder God but was ultimately denied her request. She then turned to the younger God and manipulated him into granting her wish. When Ozma was brought back, the other God appeared in his brother's domain and almost came to violent conflict. The younger was under the assumption that his elder brother came to take away the praise of a follower he rightfully deserved. However, he came to inform the younger that Salem had only come after she had been denied and that her desire would disrupt the balance of life and death. In the end, both brothers came to an understanding. This led to both Gods killing the legendary warrior again and Salem being punished with immortality. To her anger and frustration, Salem sought the kingdoms of the world in order to build an army to turn on the Gods. She made false promises and stories that they could take power and authority away from their old masters and rule a world without suffering. When Salem and the forces came upon the sanctuary of the elder god, they were met by both Gods and attacked. The resulting act caused the younger to take the magic from all the attacking humans and exterminate all human life on the planet. In the aftermath, they both deemed the world from Humanity's actions as a failure and a remnant of what their project was. Both departed the world, but not before the younger left Salem with words of disappointment and shattered the moon in the process. Without their presence, magic was gone and Salem was the only human left. At some point, the gods cursed Ozpin for failing to defeat Salem, and his soul is forced to reincarnate to other hosts eternally. The truth of the matter is that the elder god tasked him in his first incarnation as Ozma to prepare the world for Humanity's judgment. In order to aid him in this endeavor, he would reincarnate in a way that ensured he would not be alone. The four Relics were created in order to aid Humanity to achieve harmony and unity and would summon both Gods when they were ready to be judged. Over time, the true history of the Gods and the world faded into legend and an old, dying faith. With very many people not being religious, the faith in the gods became more obscure. The deity brothers appear in different forms; one humanoid, and the other draconic. The God of Light in humanoid form appears as a tall, muscular, softly gold-colored, naked male Faunus with antlers upon his head and no facial features. In his dragon form, his antlers become more streamlined, and his body takes the shape of a golden, eastern-style dragon with long whiskers. The God of Darkness in his humanoid form is shorter and less muscular than his brother, with purple skin, a face devoid of features, and two horns that spiral into points atop his head. His dragon form is four-legged with two wings, a skull-like face and his horns twist even more. V4 08 00005.png|The brothers, gods of darkness and light V4 08 00006.png|The god of light creates water, plants and wildlife. V4 08 00007.png|The god of darkness wakes to find his brother's creations... V4 08 00008.png|... and counters them with drought, fire and famine. V4 08 00009.png|Life persists, so the younger brother has a new idea. V4 08 00010.png|The god of darkness creates the Creatures of Grimm. V4 08 00011.png V4 08 00012.png|The brothers work together to form a new creation. V4 08 00013.png|The new creation and its gifts V4 08 00014.png|Humanity. V4 08 00015.png|The four relics Evidence of Religion Glynda Goodwitch mentions that the existence of the Maidens goes against hundreds of years of human religion in "Fall". Some people may believe in one god, while others may believe in multiple, as indicated by Ruby Rose's and Yang Xiao Long's uses of "god" singular in "The Shining Beacon, Pt.2" and the ship captain's use of "gods" plural in "Of Runaways and Stowaways". Religious Architecture In the "Volume 4 Character Short", the town square that Ruby Rose fights in has a church with a pair of feminine statues to either side of its front door, one of which Ruby destroys. The church has a short tower, at the top of which is a circular window with a design that was first seen on the Beacon Vault's floor and above its Aura transfer machine. V3e6 vault intersection.png|A circular design is seen on the vault floor V3e6 machine wall.png|A metal structure of the circular design hangs on the wall V4 C0 00019.png|A statue outside the church in the "Volume 4 Character Short" V4 C0 00059.png|The front of a church V4 C0 00063.png|A church window with a circular design V4 C0 00065.png Trivia *The story of the two deity brothers came to Miles Luna while he was trying to sleep one night. It was his first major contribution to RWBY since he joined Monty Oum and Kerry Shawcross in planning the show.[http://blitz.arc.unsw.edu.au/2017/interview-miles-luna-of-rooster-teeth/ Blitz News] *In the episode "Fall", Pyrrha Nikos stated that a fairy tale she knew of was called "The Tale of the Two Brothers", which may be based on the two deity brothers. *According to Eddie Rivas, the Lore Keeper for RWBY, both Jehovah and the Buddha are also worshipped in the World of Remnant, however Savitar is not.[https://youtu.be/HKZkkUFS-iE?t=1661 RWBY Rewind: Season 2 Ep 3 - "The Lore Keeper"] References Category:Legends